Origins:
Nourishing Neighbors is a charitable program of Albertsons Companies Foundation and seeks to ensure at-risk children, adults, seniors and families have access to the food they need to thrive. This program is celebrating 10 years and $297 million raised for its Nourishing Neighbors charitable program dedicated to fighting hunger enabling over a billion meals for people in need. In celebration of this achievement, the company’s private label brand, O Organics, donated $7 million, and the equivalent of 28 million meals, for the second year in a row to the program. This donation will fund grants dedicated to providing healthy meals for at-risk youth throughout the summer and after school hours. The Nourishing Neighbors program also awarded an additional $30,000 in grants, $1,000 a day throughout June, to nonprofits in a social media contest. In addition, Nourishing Neighbors provided cakes and party supplies to their hundreds of local partner organizations. Nourishing Neighbors believes this milestone and the billion meals enabled to date are a milestone to be celebrated with the people who work hard, every day, to help feed our neighbors.
Contribution:
Nourishing Neighbors, the signature cause platform of Albertsons Companies Foundation, seeks to ensure at-risk children, adults, seniors and families have access to the food they need to grow and succeed. Nourishing Neighbors is a network of thousands of local organizations. In addition to monetary donations and allowing an avenue for customers to join in the cause at checkout, Albertsons Companies also supports through associate volunteerism. In the past year, the company has renovated a pantry in San Jose to provide the dignity of choice for clients; added refrigeration to a pantry at a hospital in Boston to increase the amount of fruits and vegetables available to clients; and helped a single mother of three move into a new home in Chicago and filled their pantry with food for the whole year.
Objectives:
Nourishing Neighbors is a project that aims to address food insecurity and hunger in the communities where Albertsons Cos. operates. The project has three main components:
Through Nourishing Neighbors, Albertsons hopes to make a positive impact on the lives of millions of people who struggle with hunger and food insecurity every day.
· Ending Hunger Today: Supporting programs that meet the immediate need such as food pantries, food kitchens, backpack programs, gift cards, disaster response, school meals and Meals on Wheels.
· Ending Hunger Tomorrow: Connecting those in need to SNAP, wraparound services delivery programs to remove the issues of food deserts and other subsidized programs (childcare, rent subsidies).
· Ending Hunger Forever: Connecting those in need to SNAP, wraparound services, delivery programs to remove the issues of food deserts and other subsidized programs (childcare, rent subsidies).
Impact:
Nourishing Neighbors is proud of 10 years of impact:
Amount raised and donated: $288 million
If $100 bills were stacked, it would be 3.5 times the height of the Statue of Liberty.
Breakfasts enabled to kids in need (note, subset of total meals): Over 78 million
Local nonprofit partners: 1,400
Grants given: 8,647
People enrolled in SNAP benefits: 250,000
Kids participating in classroom-based Explore. Act. Tell. program including a project to end hunger in their community: 117,000 students
Disaster Funding: more than $10 million
Holiday gift cards given to people: over 500,000 Advisory Members:
Meals enabled: More than 1 billion
Using Feeding America’s conversion of 1.2 pounds per meal, that’s 2.5 times as heavy as the Sears Tower.
That’s about 15 meals an hour, every hour, for the last 10 years.
If each organization were a car, we would need 4 football fields to park all.
Over 3 grants a day, every workday, for 10 years.
Unlocking at least $69 million for families.
Requiring 100 basketball courts to fit all students squashed together.
If each dollar were a drop of rain, we could fill three bathtubs.
Put end to end, they could span the Golden Gate bridge 15 times.
· Claire Babineaux-Fontenot, CEO, Feeding America
· Anne Filipic, President and CEO, No Kid Hungry
· Noreen Springstead, President and CEO, Partnership for a Healthier America
· Joel Berg, Executive Director, Hunger Free America
· Jenique Jones, Executive Director of WhyHunger
· Former Ambassador Eric M. Bost, former Under Secretary for Food, Nutrition, and Consumer Services (FNCS) at the U.S.D.A.
Quote:
“In this landmark year for Nourishing Neighbors, we are so thankful for each one of our loyal customers who have donated at the register across every Albertsons Cos. store,” said Christy Duncan Anderson, President and Executive Director of the Albertsons Companies Foundation. “These donations have funded grants and innovative programs over 10 years to raise awareness and support for Americans who continually struggle with where their next meal is coming from. Together, we’re sowing seeds of hope and nourishment, one story, one donation and one meal at a time.”
Support Statement:
“In the last ten 10 years, Nourishing Neighbors has played a pivotal role in tackling the challenge of food insecurity, a complex issue affecting more than 13.5 million* American households,” said Jennifer Saenz, EVP of Pharmacy and E-Commerce for Albertsons Cos. and Board Chair for Albertsons Companies Foundation. “Our commitment as a company has never wavered, and thanks to the incredible generosity of our customers, we’ve donated over one billion meals** and partnered with 1,400 nonprofits to end hunger in our local communities. I look forward to the impact we will have over the next 10 years.”
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